Another Reason To Use Medications Judiciously

All the antibiotics in the world aren’t going to save us now.

We’re overdue for a killer influenza pandemic. Soon it appears that Tamiflu may go the way of amantadine in managing influenza - as in “it won’t work.” A Reuters/MSNBC news report today noted that more than 10% of seasonal influenza isolates from European countries were resistant to Tamiflu. In Norway it was worse - 12 of 16 influenza isolates were resistant to Tamiflu. No information on whether Relenza has shown the same resistance rates.

Just as staphylococcus has developed resistance to multiple medications and we are now threatened with MRSA, overuse of Tamiflu will create resistance to influenza and we may end up with no defense to pandemic influenza - if Tamiflu would have worked at all.

Tamiflu does not break down in the sewage systems after it has been digested, so the more that virii are exposed to Tamiflu in the sewage systems, the higher the chances that they will develop resistance to Tamiflu. For example, Japan has a high rate of Tamiflu use and also has a high rate of resistance to Tamiflu (see article above).

Supposedly ducks will be the vector to transport the disease to humans.

The US government has spent millions of dollars to stockpile Tamiflu for the next influenza pandemic. Now there’s a chance that the stockpile won’t work. Whoa.

What should you do when pandemic influenza hits?
When the bird flu hits, you may get some protection from normal influenza vaccines.
The Michael Jackson approach to germs may not be appealing, but it also works. Here are a couple of places you can purchase masks fairly cheaply.
Oh, and don’t forget to wash your hands (or use gel sanitizer).

By the way, this is an amazing book about the “bird flu” and it is free online.